Passing judgement on all the kings and emperors of France from Clovis to Napoleon III

As a king installed by a revolution, Louis Philippe’s reign is full of contradictions and difficult choices. With his wise sister Adélaïde gone, will Louis Philippe be able to survive the cal…

Charles, comte d’Artois, has been a meddlesome troublemaker for the last 50 years of French history – surviving exiles, wars and revolutions like a cockroach. What fresh hell will ensue…

Bonjour Angry Mob! Hope you're all having a splendid solstice. As I have mainly been focussing on getting our last stretch of main episodes

From idle prince, to bankrupt exile, to his glorious restoration … how will Louis XVIII measure up to his forebears in an age where the king must reconcile with the new France that the Revolu…

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Napoleon has been shipped off to his final exile, but his legacy lives on. What will become of his often forgotten son and heir, Napoleon II, after he is brought up at the Austrian court as “…

SPOILERS AHEAD! This Leaderboard was last updated on 1 May 2025 (up to Episode 64 – Napoleon I). It shows only the Top 10 monarchs in individual categories. To see the full rankings, download…

From “the Little Corporal” to “the Modern Caesar”, this month we’re talking about France’s most famous monarch. Does he live up to the hype? Make sure you leave …

This episode, we will rate and review Louis XVI, the last king of France before the Revolution blows everything apart. Will he get through to the Tournement, or will he be guillotined a second time…

The Sun King was a hard act to follow, and with France tiptoeing towards Revolution, how did Louis XV, “the well-beloved” respond to the endless wars, scandals and financial crises of t…

Battle Royale: French Monarchs · Episode

Battle Royale: French Monarchs · Episode

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The Louis XIII of Alexandre Dumas’s “The Three Musketeers” is a comically naïve and easily manipulated do-nothing king, dominated by his scheming chief minister Cardinal Richelieu…

We’re back!!! And we’re starting off a new royal line with Henry IV, the first Bourbon king. Is this stinky, ill-mannered heretic really the hero France has been waiting for after 30 ye…

The Maid of Orléans is well-known for having taken the intricate chessboard of the Hundred Years' War, tipped it upside down, kicked it across a field and scored a game-changing goal for the Blues af...

It's now time to review the life and deeds of the "mad king" himself, Charles VI. In this episode, we talk about what the king was like before his mental illness took over, and what the darkest period...

Our final two Regents of Madness bring the Hundred Year's War to its apotheosis. Henry V's brother Bedford was Charles VI's regent at the very end of his life, but Ben has uncovered that this English ...

Katy from Queens Podcast joins us for the showdown of showdowns: Isabeau of Bavaria VS Yolande of Aragon, the Queen of France VS the "Queen of Four Kingdoms". As we go through their lives, we see th...

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Josh Zucker from the Grand Dukes of the West podcast joins us to talk about yet another Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless. And while John may not match his father for statecraft or shrewdness, he ...

We first judge our monarchs with the shallow category "Enchanté", which means "nice to meet you" in French.Although 9 out of 10 times, it was not nice for El...